Refinement on Choosed Design Plan & Technical Tryout -Week 6

In week 5, I had some discussions with another lecturer on my design plan. I showed him both of my design plans. 

The first design discussions 

He believed that all blind people can use phone recordings, with the exception of elderly blind people who are typically uninitiated by electronics. He mentioned to me that to choose this, I need to change my target audience to elderly blind people.


The second design discussions 

He said the proposal would be more convenient for visually impaired people executing on an application of a phone. The approach was welcomed by all visually impaired people. 

Both approaches were fine to proceed with, depending on which target audience I prefer.  


At this stage, I was struggling to choose my design plan between these two. I am personally more into the first design plan because of the execution I am more confident to go for. Besides, the information stated in design plan 1 is more based on the analysis of blind communities. However, I am worried about blind people do find it easier to use the voice recorder on a phone. 

To actually proved whether the statement was accurate, I first tried to do online research and I found out this.





The statement of whether blind people do find it easier to use the voice recorder on phone was wrong after my online research. Most blind people of every age do find voice recording devices more helpful for them. 


Definitely, I cannot believe what online resources told me, So, I approached back my visually impaired users. I created some questions and voice messages for them. 

Voice message content to them

Hi, (their name). Lai Peiyi again. Last week the female interviewer was with you. Sorry for disturbing you again. 


I have some remaining questions for you.

The first question is - do you frequently use voice recorders on your phone?

Second question - If you do use a voice recorder, do you mostly use it for recording what? (for example, taking notes, recording phone numbers, or recording voice memory) 

The third question - Do you find it difficult to record voice messages on your phone? Why?

Fortunately, they replied to me with unexpected responses.

Summary of First Interviewer 


"I rarely use the voice recorder on my phone because it is very hard to record. When I try to record, I had to go a few steps and search one by one for the recording that I want. The start and pause button is difficult to click because when I try to click them, it will record the phone's voice. Therefore, it is very inconvenient for me."


Summary of Second Interviewer 

" I always use an audio recorder on my phone for taking notes and recording other things such as environment sound. I think an audio recorder on phone is ok for me. "



After receiving the interviewer's responses, I was frustrated because there were two different opinions. I was frustrated with getting less evidence to prove my execution plan. I try to cool down myself and analyze the received responses.

I then realized I mistake in the detail about blind communities which were stated by the first interviewer. They do use the voice recorder on phone. However, the voice guidance will be recorded once they start audio recording which means they can not use phones at the same time. The audio recorder on phone was an inconvenience for them but they have no choice but to use it.  

The inconvenience is across all ages. 


Thoughts

To actually establish what is accurate and inaccurate, primary research is crucial. We might miss out on some of the important details when researching. Because what we experience in our own way is not necessarily how others experience it. Therefore, it is important to find back interviewers and get their responses.


Execution Plan

After summarizing the points, I sketch out my execution plan, and the sketch was presented on the presentation slide which I changed after the presentation. 

The execution plan is to let users record notes, record item places, and also their memory. The device is connected with Bluetooth via smartphone. Once the user records an audio file it will auto uploads to the app and be organized for them.  


Feedback from Presentation

My tutor is curious about the importance and significance use of the recording memory of the users. As my previous execution plan is to help them to pre-record their item places, the sudden changing execution plan needs to be further reconfirmed with my user interviewers.     


I lost my pathway after the presentation. Therefore, I had a discussion with my tutor, and she taught me to list out both the execution plan's pros and cons. 

Concept and idea 1 - help the blind to find things & take note
Pro
Validated user needs
Convenient and use at-ease solution
Scope of work within control, meet the level of confidence
(Fabrication, Arduino recorder, and playback)

Con
need a new habit
usability not tested yet 
the solution is more suitable for elderly blind people, 
if there is a change of TA, means a new investigation is needed, and more time needed


Concept and idea 2 - a record of memories
Pro
current generation preferences 
bigger data storage


Con
TA needs not clearly identified yet
The solution is questionable to address the TA's needs
scope of work not within the control (Bluetooth, Arduino record and playback, fabrication, extra Arduino Bluetooth connect app, UIUX app)



The discussion ended up with the first concept being more helpful in blind communities' daily life whereas the second concept of further execution plan on connecting Bluetooth via mobile phone is helpful for them. My tutor suggests for the first execution plan, if I had more time to work on it, the second execution plan can be implemented. 
The discussion was helpful for me because I found out which one is more helpful for blind communities. I really appreciate my tutor. 


I then came up with new insights and a refinement design plan in my confirmed execution plan. 

New Insights


  • 100% of them use voice guidance on their phone.

  • 100% of them are concerned about their certain extent of memorizing.

  • 90% of them take notes down for better memorization. 

  • 80% of them use voice recorders. 

  • 80% of them claim that a voice recorder on a phone is inconvenient for them.

  • 90% of them rely more on hearing compared to touching. 

  • 100% of them do have essential items that always bring along with them such as white cane, phones, bags, wallets, and keys.   

  • 100% of them claim that sound is very important for them in their real life.

  • 100% of them agree that they take more time to find a lost item and familiar with certain things compared to normal people. 

  • 70% of them have the habit of organizing items in certain places or containers. 

  • 70% of them cannot memorize quickly and easily when comes to a series of numbers.



Conclusion

According to the new insights, the majority of blind people rely on taking notes, particularly for work-related purposes like taking down information for meetings, classes, or action plans. However, the majority of them have trouble recalling phone numbers. Additionally, they always carry a few essential items with them. It is crucial that they cannot miss the items as a result.



Refinement Design Planning



Technical Tryout 


Intended media Used

-Arduino nano as power supply 
-Arduino ISD 1820 Voice Record and Playback
-Connected Wires 
-Small speaker

Reference Sources 

https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/gadgetprogrammers/diy-auto-voice-record-and-playback-7a47d7

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTY-NrZg-EI&t=394s

Material I bought

I started to buy some materials online. The material I bought was Arduino ISD 1820 - Arduino Voice Record and Playback.  
The materials will be for me to test out the recording and playback functions. 
















Arduino Tryout 

After the refinement of the execution plan, I start to test out the Arduino ISD1820 with the online resources as references to guide me.

The first tryout was going well by pressing and holding to record, pressing the play button to playback audio. The first tryout can only record for 3 seconds long and the playback audio is in low voice.







References List

Secondary researches

Good Recorder. (2021). Best 3 Voice Recorders for The Blind or Visually Impaired. [online] Available at: https://goodrecorder.com/voice-recorders-for-the-blind-or-visually-impaired/ [Accessed 18 Dec. 2022].


Technical tryout researches


Arduino Project Hub. (n.d.). DIY Auto Voice Record and Playback. [online] Available at: https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/gadgetprogrammers/diy-auto-voice-record-and-playback-7a47d7 [Accessed 23 Dec. 2022].

·       Electronic Clinic (2020). Arduino ISD1820 Voice Recorder for Car Accident, Security system and Offices. [online] www.youtube.com.

Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTY-NrZg-EI&t=63s [Accessed 3 Dec. 2022].




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